Tech filicide: Apple will declare millions of iPhones dead in 2022

“Before, things were made to last”, a phrase that is repeated every time programmed obsolescence enters the scene. Whether it’s a computer, toaster, or electric toothbrush, users dread the day that such a useful device will stop working. Just as terrifying is the moment when Apple considers your precious iPhone obsolete.

Specifically, the technology giant plans to include in its list of “old products” billions of iPhone 6 Plus, according to an internal report to which he has had access MacRumors. The incorporation will take place on December 31 and, in practice, implies that Apple will stop offering hardware service for those devices, which have long been too old to be compatible with iOS updates.

Since its launch in 2015, Apple has sold more than 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, becoming one of its most popular models. The new status does not apply to iPhone 6, which will remain “alive” until 2023.

The “old products” list is the last stop for Apple devices. Before considering a device obsolete, the company puts it on the “vintage” model list. This means that the owner will have some trouble finding parts to repair that model, but it won’t be impossible. This stage lasts two years, at which point the tech giant it completely disassociates itself from its creation and you will no longer be able to go to him to solve a problem.

Owners of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have not been able to update their devices for years, since the launch of iOS 13. Since then, they have been deprived of the new features and, above all, they have been more exposed to cyber attacks.

The braking of the iPhone 13

At the time, Apple set a goal to produce 90 million iPhone 13. However, the technology giant has had to lower its expectations to 10 million as a result of the global supply crisis. Now, it has communicated to its suppliers that demand for the iPhone 13 has weakened, which has translated this Thursday into a fall in the stock market of more than 4%, to 157.8 dollars per share.

As has advanced Bloomberg, Apple has informed its suppliers that it is possible that there is no pickup in orders in 2022. Even so, analysts maintain their projections of sales increases at 6% to 117.900 million dollars in the last quarter of the year.

Like many other companies globally, Apple faces raw material shortages, transportation bottlenecks, inflation, and most recently the omicron variant. To all this is added that a possible slowdown in the pace of holiday shopping. Online spending during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, which kicks off the shopping season, fell 1% year-on-year, its weakest pace in more than a decade, according to Adobe.